The time of the stormy meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval office seems increasingly distant. This Monday, August 4, the Ukrainian President expressed his “recognition to President Trump for his determination to end war and the pressure applied by the United States” in Russia.
“Russia prolongs the war against Ukraine for a single reason: it has money to pursue it,” said Volodymyr Zelensky in his X account. “All sanctions that restrict Russia contribute to peace. All weapons that strengthen Ukraine contribute to peace. All political actions that isolate Russia contribute to peace.”
This message of thanks is published while the ultimatum released by Donald Trump to Russia is about to expire. Last week, the US president had given Moscow for 10 days to end the fighting in Ukraine, under the penalty of being inflicted new sanctions whose exact nature remains vague.
Donald Trump also threatened to inflict “secondary customs rights” to countries that continue to trade with Russia, such as China and India.
The Indians “do not care about the number of people who are killed in Ukraine by the Russian war machine,” said the US president in a message about his social platform of truth on Monday.
Trump’s emissary waited in Russia this week
The pressure applied by Donald Trump in Vladimir Putin also passes through the Friday announcement of the deployment of two submarines, without specifying where they were deployed or if they were appliances or not. In response, the spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov, called on Monday “all (to) show great caution in his nuclear statements.”
It is in this period of increasing tensions between the two countries that Donald Trump’s special emissary Steve Witkoff has to go to Russia in the next few days. According to the US president, this visit will take place “Wednesday or Thursday.”
For journalists who asked what Steve Witkoff’s message would be in Moscow and if there were a way for Russia to avoid sanctions, Donald Trump replied: “Yes, concluding an agreement for people to stop killing.”
Despite the pressure exerted by Washington, the Russian offensive against its neighbor continues. Russia shot on Sunday night until Monday 162 drones and a missile in Ukraine, almost everyone was sacrificed. According to local authorities, four people died in Russian bombings in the Zaporijia region, south of Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
